Letter | Obama must stand firm against PAC-funded measures

With the Senate and House in Washington now controlled by Republicans, one cannot doubt they are, at this very moment, making plans to undo everything they can that is connected to our President: health care; immigration reform; and climate control.

They will almost certainly be helped by entities such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Americans for Prosperity (AFP). After all, AFP, founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, spent $45 million (Forbes Magazine) to try and buy control of Congress in the 2010 elections.

The only thing that is now standing between our existing environmental laws and the Koch brothers’ oil money is the power of the President’s veto pen. Now is the time for Obama to stand firm and fight against the dismantling of key protections for clean air and water, strict regulations of the Keystone Pipeline, and real and lasting measures toward climate change.

The Koch brothers have purchased the best Republican Congress they could buy. Our President has a fight on his hands. My hope, and indeed, it should be the hope of us all, is that he stands firm and does what is right for us and our planet. He has two years to wield his veto pen to the good of America, cement a great legacy for himself, and leave us all in a better place.

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